Russia really is a middling power

[DemocratSinceBirth]

They are a large gas station with nukes.

A nation's power can be measured by it's military might, it's economic might, and its cultural influence.

Military might- Let's be charitable and give them an eight. They have a lot of nukes but they are incapable of projecting their power in faraway places.

Economic might- Michigan has a larger economy. Let's give them a three.

Cultural impact- Yeah, we're all aware of Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Solzhenitsyn but I don't see folks in Manila, Beijing, and Mumbai waiting for the next blockbuster from Moscow nor do I see teenagers in Seoul, Paris, or Kuala Lumpur rocking the latest fashions from Moscow, using smartphones created in Russia, or dancing to the latest Russian hits. Let's be charitable and give them a four for cultural contributions made before our grandparents were born.

Add em up and they get a five.

I agree with that sage that said ""I do think it's important to keep perspective: Russia doesn't make anything...
Immigrants aren't rushing to Moscow for opportunities."

I don't know why Trump treats them like they are ten feet tall.

[mitch96]

1. "I don't know why Trump treats them like they are ten feet tall."

Because he's a Oligarch in training and he just loves him some russian oligarchs..

m

[GulfCoast66]

2. I disagree. A Nation that owns the US president is not a middling power.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Pee Wee Herman could beat up Superman if he doesn't fight back.

[oberliner]

4. The nukes are kind of a big deal though

[Anon-C]

9. And Putin's put them front and center.

[uponit7771]

5. So was Germany around 1939, it wasn't the GDP it was how much they put into their military

[guillaumeb]

6. If Putin is Trump's banker,

that would explain much.

[dalton99a]

7. President Obama, Dec. 16, 2016:

Responding to intelligence reports that Russia sought to disrupt the presidential election through cyberattacks, Obama was harsh in his assessment of the Kremlin: “The Russians can’t change us or significantly weaken us,” he said at his end-of-year press conference on Friday. “They are a smaller country, they are a weaker country, their economy doesn't produce anything that anybody wants to buy except oil and gas and arms. They don't innovate.”

But the president also suggested that Russia and its strongman president, Vladimir Putin, could stand to “weaken” the U.S. if it loosens its commitment to democracy.

“They can impact us if we lose track of who we are,” Obama said. “They can impact us if we abandon our values.”

He then listed them: “Mr. Putin can weaken us just like he's trying to weaken Europe if we start buying into notions that it's okay to intimidate the press. Or lock up dissidents. Or discriminate against people because of their faith or what they look like.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/obama-russia-weaker-country-232759

[Anon-C]

8. +1000

[AlexSFCA]

10. I beleive Russia has the largest natural resources in the world?

but make no mistake, putin has no interest collaborating with USA economically or otherwise. His goal is to destroy us and the entire concet of western democracy by any means possible because it threatens his regime.